NSO Exploring NSO together... Randomly! (Game #14 picked!)

[jnWake]

Introduction

If you're like me, you are a member of NSO ever since it launched in 2018. Then, you played some retro games, likely ones you already knew you liked, but didn't play much more than that. Then, when the Expansion Pak released you did the same, bought the service, played a couple of your favorites and then stopped until another favorite came out...

Because of this, I've been wanting to try some more NSO games, but I could never figure out how to do it. I also thought it'd be fun to do it with the community here, so I came up with this thread idea.

Exploring NSO

So, what is this about then? Well, the idea is to pick games from NSO with certain criteria and then just... play them! I know playing games sounds like a wild concept but I guess we can give it a try.

So, how do we choose which game to play? Randomly, of course!

• First, I'll randomly pick a number from 1 to 4 (EDIT: now 6!), to represent each of the currently available consoles for NSO + EP: 1 is NES, 2 is SNES, 3 is N64 and 4 is Genesis. (EDIT: 5 is GB, 6 is GBA). The number picked will be our console of choice for the game to play.
• Then, I'll randomly pick a number between 1 and the number of games released on NSO for the console picked in the previous step. I'll use this number on Wikipedia's list of NSO games to pick a game.
• Finally, if I've already played this game or it's not available in US NSO then I'll roll step 2 again until a game that I haven't played and is on US NSO is picked.

After a game is picked, the idea is to play it!

Sharing impressions

While playing the game, I'll be sharing impressions and I hope people from the community chime in as well, either by playing through the game with me or sharing their thoughts of it if you've already played it before.

There'll be no pressure to finish games for this, just play along and share impressions!

I don't really have plans to keep a schedule for new games as the randomness may throw games of any length so the idea will be to play along and pick new games after I'm/we're done with the current one. The plan is to explore NSO but not to feel stressed about it after all!

Let's begin!

So, let's pick our first game! As I said, first I'll roll a random number to pick a console (using random.org):

Our first pick is the SNES! According to my list, there are 72 games on SNES NSO, so we'll pick a number from 1 to 72 and...

Number 36! Going by my list, the game is...

Mario's Super Picross!

I've played a fair share of Picross but never this one so... let's go!

I'll try to play this sometime soon and share my impressions. Anyone interested can join me!

 

[Deleted member 2258]

Cool idea!

That picross game can keep you busy for a while.

 

[7threst]

This is a great idea! So is it like every week a different game?

 

[Brock Reiher]

I endorse this

 

[Barely Able]

I shall partake!

 

[jnWake]

This is a great idea! So is it like every week a different game?

I don't wanna promise such a strict schedule, since I do wanna play and hopefully complete each game that appears. I imagine I'd like to play 2 games a month or something like that, considering a lot of old games tend to be shorter.

The first one, in particular, seems it could be a bit long to complete.

 

[jirou]

Very cool idea, I will definitely play along, though I honestly doubt I'll finish more than maybe a handful. Also don't have the Expansion Pass, but I'll just hold out during those times or maybe I've played the games before/find other means to play them.

For this one, I might've played this for a couple of minutes? Not sure, but I have played other Picross games including some of the Gameboy Mario Picross, and I like all of those.

 

[Red Monster]

This is a great idea for a thread!

 

[Waluigi]

Pulled this one! Happy with the result. Forget if I played it back in the day.. Will try to get to it soon.

 

[Soul Skater]

First game: Scrunt

 

[jnWake]

The idea was to play the ones I pick so that everyone can chime in together haha but it's fine if you draft your own games as well I suppose. As long as we explore NSO it works!

 

[Red Monster]

The idea was to play the ones I pick so that everyone can chime in together haha but it's fine if you draft your own games as well I suppose. As long as we explore NSO it works!

kinda like a weekly or biweekly NSO club! I get it. It’s brilliant.

 

[jnWake]

kinda like a weekly or biweekly NSO club! I get it. It’s brilliant.

Exactly! More like biweekly/monthly but we'll see what happens.

 

[Red Monster]

I played the first half dozen levels of Mario’s Picross. First off, I didn’t know it wasn’t in English, so that threw me a bit. Then the incredibly small puzzles threw me again. I’m sure later on the puzzles will get bigger, but to start out with they look like they’re about the size of a postage stamp. But that hardly matters, because Picross is still Picross, and my skills from hundreds of hours in previous Picross games kicked in. I don’t know how many puzzles I’ll do in this game, but it’s Picross, and Picross is fun. It’s definitely primitive though, especially if you are used to modern Picross games.

 

[xghost777]

There’s not many non-NSO+ games I want to play still barring replays (basically just the Breath of Fires and the Earthbounds), so I don’t think I’ll be too active here, but this is a cool idea for a thread! I also happen to be playing Mario Super Picross myself so I can even weigh in here.

I definitely prefer the modern Jupiter Picross games, but Picross is timeless and I like the Mario theming. One thing I don’t like is if you accidentally mark a square you didn’t want to, it yells at you which gives you the answer. One thing I do like (but I’m glad still isn’t a thing) is marking the hint numbers off yourself. It feels so satisfying to check it off one by one and sometimes finish the puzzle before you expect! I have 3/4 Mario levels cleared, so if there isn’t a twist I’m getting close to half way done.

 

[jnWake]

First report! I started Mario's Super Picross yesterday.

Title screen greets you with Mario winking!​

Oh yeah, this game's almost entirely in japanese. There's not much need for words here though, unless you've never played Picross before in which case you'll be completely lost... oh, well. In any case, for those who don't know, Picross is a puzzle game where you must fill tiles according to simple rules:

The playable board is a little small, makes it hard to figure out stuff sometimes...​

Here, you have to fill out spaces according to the numbers on each row/column. For example, the first row has 7 continuous spaces filled, while the second column has 3 continuous spaces filled and then, SEPARATE from those 3, another filled space. If you manage to fill each space you'll get a figure like:

You'd think the pictures would be Mario themed in a Mario themed Picross game...​

Anyway, if you've played the more modern Picross games you'll know what to do but, be wary, since this is an older game it has less features. For example, the game doesn't mark "complete" numbers on each row/column, which makes it much harder to complete puzzles. Also, and this one is almost a dealbreaker for me, there's no "dummy" checkmark in this game, which means every move you make is a complete commit.

So far I enjoy it but I doubt I'll do every puzzle here. I honestly prefer the modern Picross interface and features, but this is still an interesting game and I'll clear some more puzzles before calling it complete.

I'll give it a week for everyone that wants to chime in to participate before picking a new game.

 

[Red Monster]

First report! I started Mario's Super Picross yesterday.



Oh yeah, this game's almost entirely in japanese. There's not much need for words here though, unless you've never played Picross before in which case you'll be completely lost... oh, well. In any case, for those who don't know, Picross is a puzzle game where you must fill tiles according to simple rules:


Here, you have to fill out spaces according to the numbers on each row/column. For example, the first row has 7 continuous spaces filled, while the second column has 3 continuous spaces filled and then, SEPARATE from those 3, another filled space. If you manage to fill each space you'll get a figure like:



Anyway, if you've played the more modern Picross games you'll know what to do but, be wary, since this is an older game it has less features. For example, the game doesn't mark "complete" numbers on each row/column, which makes it much harder to complete puzzles. Also, and this one is almost a dealbreaker for me, there's no "dummy" checkmark in this game, which means every move you make is a complete commit.

So far I enjoy it but I doubt I'll do every puzzle here. I honestly prefer the modern Picross interface and features, but this is still an interesting game and I'll clear some more puzzles before calling it complete.

I'll give it a week for everyone that wants to chime in to participate before picking a new game.

I like the screenshots!

The play space is incredibly small. Part of that is the game's resolution, but part of that also is the absolutely gargantuan timer in the top left. I think maybe that could have been shrunken down a teensy bit! And the lack of a "maybe" checkmark is going to make bigger puzzles much more challenging compared to modern picross games.

 

[jnWake]

I like the screenshots!

The play space is incredibly small. Part of that is the game's resolution, but part of that also is the absolutely gargantuan timer in the top left. I think maybe that could have been shrunken down a teensy bit! And the lack of a "maybe" checkmark is going to make bigger puzzles much more challenging compared to modern picross games.

Yep, this scares me for big puzzles, I use it A LOT in modern Picross to check for spaces...

 

[Samurai Goroh]

One of my most played SNES online games lol. The Mario theming is pretty low effort, but the game is very fun. Learned how to play picross with this and I really like it.

 

[jnWake]

I've played a bit more, it's still Picross but it has some surprises...

Wario's here as well!​

Wario's levels have slightly different rules than Mario's. In the latter, you have a time limit and there's a hint system (exchanging seconds for hints), while in Wario's you don't have a timer but no hints either. It's not a major difference but it's something I suppose...

Wario congratulates you after you finish his levels! (I guess? I know nothing of japanese)​

Considering this is mostly just Picross, I'll roll game #2 next monday and hopefully get something more unique than Picross, but I'll take whatever the randomness throws at me!

 

[Red Monster]

I've played a bit more, it's still Picross but it has some surprises...


Wario's levels have slightly different rules than Mario's. In the latter, you have a time limit and there's a hint system (exchanging seconds for hints), while in Wario's you don't have a timer but no hints either. It's not a major difference but it's something I suppose...



Considering this is mostly just Picross, I'll roll game #2 next monday and hopefully get something more unique than Picross, but I'll take whatever the randomness throws at me!

Wario is in the game? When was this game released?

 

[jnWake]

Wario is in the game? When was this game released?

1995 according to Wiki and the game's title screen. The cameo seems somewhat random but there's a cute transition when switching from Mario mode to Wario mode where some japanese characters switch from Mario to Wario (I assume, as I don't speak japanese). Maybe the dialogue makes the cameo make some sense as well but I can't really read it...

There's an unofficial translation patch for those that want to preserve this game by the way, but I didn't bother doing that as I wanna take screenshots with the Switch.

 

[jnWake]

Final report!

Some pictures remind you the game’s age…​

It’s been pretty challenging playing Picross here without the features of modern games, but…

I managed to clear the game! …

…or did I?! Oh well, I think I’ll keep playing every once in a while but for the sake of the thread I’ll roll a new game tomorrow.

My final impressions are that this is a fun Picross game but I’d rather play the S series on Switch tbh.

 

[xghost777]

I’ve been having fun chipping away at Mario Picross. Definitely enjoying it the farther I go as the puzzles are becoming more challenging. I didn’t mention it in my first post, but I love guessing what the picture will be called as I know a smidge of Japanese.

I was curious to know how big the game actually was so I googled it and found a wiki page. Much bigger than I thought and I’m very excited to get to the most difficult puzzles. Also learned despite it looking fairly primitive, they did some cool graphical tricks to make it look the way it does which was cool to learn about.

 

[jnWake]

Ok, so time for game #2!

First, let's roll a console:

#2 is the SNES again! Once again, we'll roll from the 72 available games...

Number 6! Looking at my list, that game is...

Kirby's Dream Course!

I've never played this one before so it'll be fun! I imagine many people here will have played it before so I'm interested on any impressions.

 

[Red Monster]

Ok, so time for game #2!

First, let's roll a console:

#2 is the SNES again! Once again, we'll roll from the 72 available games...

Number 6! Looking at my list, that game is...

Kirby's Dream Course!

I've never played this one before so it'll be fun! I imagine many people here will have played it before so I'm interested on any impressions.

Kirby's Dream Course!! I've never really played it either, just the first level or so back when it first came onto the service. It looks like a quick, fun little game. I can't wait to play it!

 

[juuso]

I had Kirby's Dream Course growing up and have beaten it multiple times. I actually also played through it somewhat recently on NSO, and was surprised by how short it actually was considering how much time I had spent with it as a kid.

I think it's a fun little game, and to this day quite unique. It's a golf game and there's the process of looking at the terrain, figuring out how much force and spin you might need and then timing your button pushes to match that, but then there are also the enemies that give you abilities, and you have to start thinking about the sequence in which to get them, where to use them and so on, which turns into more of a puzzle game.

 

[BassForever]

I love the idea but so far OP has rolled two games I've played to death before

I guess a quick thoughts on the two

Super Mario Picross: It's Picross, this wouldn't be the game I recommend to beginners as I don't think it teaches you the rules well even if you have the fan translated English patch (not on NSO), but it's still quality picross. My one issue with this game like it's GB counterpart that was localized is I don't care for picross games that instantly tell you that you made a mistake. One mistake can absolutely break all challenge a puzzle had and give you information early. I also just hate getting penalized for a misclick. The "hard" Wario levels do fix this problem, though it's still timed which isn't my ideal picross experience.

Kirby's Dream Course: Golf with Kirby was one of my most played game growing up. I've beaten the game on original hardware and on NSO. While I do enjoy the single player, the multiplayer is where Dream Course shines. The strategy of trying to maximize points and health while also trying to screw your opponent and steal their points is addicting. If you are playing Dream Course as part of this "explore NSO" I highly recommend you get a member of fami or someone local to play with you. Top 10 multiplayer game on the SNES.

 

[ngpdrew]

Ya know, people swear by Dream Course and I’ve never really gotten it. Guess the 8th time could be the charm, yeah?

 

[jnWake]

I love the idea but so far OP has rolled two games I've played to death before

I guess a quick thoughts on the two

Super Mario Picross: It's Picross, this wouldn't be the game I recommend to beginners as I don't think it teaches you the rules well even if you have the fan translated English patch (not on NSO), but it's still quality picross. My one issue with this game like it's GB counterpart that was localized is I don't care for picross games that instantly tell you that you made a mistake. One mistake can absolutely break all challenge a puzzle had and give you information early. I also just hate getting penalized for a misclick. The "hard" Wario levels do fix this problem, though it's still timed which isn't my ideal picross experience.

I’m pretty sure Wario’s levels aren’t timed, they just register your time like regular Picross. I’m not sure mistakes are automatically fixed in Wario’s levels either.

I hope I roll something new for you next time!

 

[BassForever]

I’m pretty sure Wario’s levels aren’t timed, they just register your time like regular Picross. I’m not sure mistakes are automatically fixed in Wario’s levels either.

I hope I roll something new for you next time!

I might be confusing it for the second Mario GB picross game then I feel all picross games start to blue together if you play enough of them.

 

[Mbolibombo]

I never played this one but since I'm generally not the biggest fans of 2D kirby I didnt even look it up.. but this one looks like some sort of golfish-game?

Yeah I'm gonna try this one :>

 

[Red Monster]

My first impressions after a few holes are 1) I have very little idea what’s going on, and 2) it seems very finicky whether Kirby will drop in the hole or not. You have to be very precise.

Do NSO games have digital manuals? I feel like that would help a lot.

 

[ngpdrew]

What is happening on Course 3?!

 

[souio]

I always thought that Dream Course would make for an amazing mobile game for Kirby. You could use the touch controls angry birds-style to drag and pull back Kirby for your desired force before releasing and rotate the angle. Would actually be a pretty good game for touch controls, imo

 

[jnWake]

My first daughter was born yesterday so I’ll be a bit slow with this game… Probably gonna be 2 weeks for the next roll.

 

[Barely Able]

My first daughter was born yesterday so I’ll be a bit slow with this game… Probably gonna be 2 weeks for the next roll.

Congrats! Hope everyone is happy and healthy.

 

[Red Monster]

My first daughter was born yesterday so I’ll be a bit slow with this game… Probably gonna be 2 weeks for the next roll.

Whoa hey I just saw this

Congratulations pal! That's awesome!

 

[jnWake]

Managed to play a bit, having fun so far. I’ll have a proper report with screenshots in a few days.

I’m surprised by how hard the game is. It requires a lot of precision and getting a Game Over is kinda easy. Hardest Kirby game for me so far lol.

We’ll roll Game #3 on the first monday of January btw, that’ll be enough time for Dream Course.

 

[Red Monster]

I hit a wall on course 3. This game is brutally hard, way more difficult than you would expect.

 

[jnWake]

Dream Course report!

So, I've played for a couple hours. I'm up to Course 5 so far, managed to get medals on the first 4 courses (course 4 was first try even ). Anyway, let's talk about the game!

Game greets you with Kirby's happy face! Those circle lights move on the screen like on that scene from The Office with the screensaver. Then, it makes you choose a "name".​

So, what's the game about?

Traditional Kirby enemies make their appearance here!​

As some may know, it's a Kirby "golf" game. To move Kirby, you have to hit him as if he were a golf ball, giving him a direction, a hit type (ground shot or floating shot) and potentially even a spin. As you may see, there's no holes initially on the course. Instead, your goal is to hit the enemies and, after hitting the second to last one, the hole will appear on the position of the final foe. This means you can "choose" where the final hole lies. This is not all though...

You can't tell from the screenshot that well but this is the Electric ability, which kills boss type enemies (like Whispy Woods)​

Like any proper Kirby game, this one features copy abilities, which you activate by pressing B while Kirby's moving. There's several of them with different effects, which adds a bit of a "puzzle" element to the game. Solving each course requires strategy, to figure out the path to the final hole, and also a fair amount of precision, to hit every enemy without wasting too many shots.

Game tracks your performance over each course. Do well enough and you'll earn medals! Be wary though, the game's tough...​

Myself and other users have mentioned the game being pretty tough. Why's that? Well, your amount of shots is limited. Each shot consumes a Tomato, and if you run out of them you'll lose a life. You only have 4 Tomatoes per life and start each course with 2 lives, so it's pretty easy to lose. Hitting an enemy or reaching a hole give you one Tomato back, so being efficient lets you win. Keep in mind you also lose lives by falling off the course though... Anyway, Dream Course is surprisingly challenging and can be a bit frustrating, but I guess NSO lets you cheat with Rewind! I've played legit so far though.

Nailing a Hole In One gives you an extra life!​

To summarize, Dream Course is a surprisingly challenging but satisfying Kirby and golf crossover. So far I'm enjoying it even if it's a bit frustrating. The game barely explains itself by the way, so I recommend reading a guide to grasp the controls first.

I'll (hopefully, if time allows) post a (smaller) final report by the end of the week and will roll the next game on January 2nd/3rd.

 

[jnWake]

Hate to double post, but I have an update!

Dedede only appears on the intro cutscene for this level...
​

It's been tough, but I managed to reach the final level where...

...but he appears on the final level for a weird Golf vs Robot battle!​

...not surprisingly, you battle King Dedede. The game doesn't have a story but it still ends with a final battle against Kirby's longtime nemesis, which shouldn't be too shocking.

The world is safe once again! Something like that I suppose...​

There are actually 8 more courses to beat after clearing the game, but you need silver medals on each stage to unlock 'em and, honestly, fuck doing that. I liked the game but I don't have the patience for that. Overall, it was a fun experience!

I'll roll the next game in a few days, probs on january 2nd (next monday).

 

[LuigiBlood]

Please do not forget the fun factor in multiplayer, that's one of the best parts of Kirby's Dream Course

 

[jnWake]

Ok, I lied. I have some free time today so I decided to roll the next game!

First, let's pick a console:

New console this time! N64 it is. Sorry for those without the Expansion Pass. According to my list there's 23 games currently on N64 NSO (and I've played several of them) so rolling one may be a little harder but let's give it a try!

Number 20! Full disclosure here, this is the second roll. First one was #16 which is Pokémon Snap, a game I've played before. So, what's #20?

Wave Race!

I've actually never played this before and had been wanting to since it released on NSO so now's the time! I imagine several people here have already played it before so share your opinions! And those who haven't played it before feel free to join me!

 

[Deleted member 2258]

Another winner!

Has anyone ever played the Wave Race game on Game Boy? I just discovered it exists. The gameplay looks like the bubble bath level in Micro Machines.

 

[Red Monster]

Oh man, Wave Race is so freaking good. I played it for the first time when it came to NSO last year. It takes a little getting used to before you’ll be comfortable with the way the boats control, but once you do, the game is bliss.

 

[jnWake]

It's been a week so... time for some impressions!

So, what is Wave Race?

As you may know, it's a jet ski racing game. If you're familiar with Nintendo racing games like Mario Kart don't get confident as this plays quite differently! For example, your jet ski only turns while you're holding the accelerator, so any trick of braking to turn doesn't really work. It's a fairly challenging game, but with practice you'll get a grip on how it works.

Things started badly but I managed to turn it around and start winning races!​

So far I've cleared the Normal Championship and I'm aiming towards the Expert one, at least, to call this game cleared and move on to the next one. Of course, if I get super stuck on Expert I'll probably stop earlier!

I'll try to have another update next week before rolling the next game! Hope someone else is getting their first taste of this game with me as it's super fun.

 

[jnWake]

Double post! Not much progress on Wave Race 64, Expert is super tough so I've decided to call it quits. I had a fun time but I have no interest on grinding Expert really.

That means, it's time for a new game! First, let's roll a console:

Wow, the SNES again... Anyway, let's roll a game from the 72 possibilities!

Spoiler: Skipped rolls

First roll was #68, Kirby's Dream Course SP... Skip!
Second roll was #58, Earthbound... I've played it before so skip!
Third roll was #22, Breath of Fire 2... another one I've played before, so skip!

#43, the 4th roll! Let's see what it is...

Tuff E Nuff!

I have no idea what this is, but the boxart has heavy 90's vibes... I guess the point of exploring NSO is playing weird stuff like this, right? If anyone knows what the hell this is please let us know, otherwise I hope you join me and try whatever this is!

 

[Red Monster]

Double post! Not much progress on Wave Race 64, Expert is super tough so I've decided to call it quits. I had a fun time but I have no interest on grinding Expert really.

That means, it's time for a new game! First, let's roll a console:

Wow, the SNES again... Anyway, let's roll a game from the 72 possibilities!

Spoiler: Skipped rolls

First roll was #68, Kirby's Dream Course SP... Skip!
Second roll was #58, Earthbound... I've played it before so skip!
Third roll was #22, Breath of Fire 2... another one I've played before, so skip!

#43, the 4th roll! Let's see what it is...

Tuff E Nuff!

I have no idea what this is, but the boxart has heavy 90's vibes... I guess the point of exploring NSO is playing weird stuff like this, right? If anyone knows what the hell this is please let us know, otherwise I hope you join me and try whatever this is!

that looks like vegeta kinda

 

[souio]

It's funny because in 2021 I got a good job so I decided to buy an SNES with a bunch of Japan-only repro carts so I can experience them on a CRT tv. But the funny thing is when my SNES arrived, I had one game in my parents' storage from my childhood: Tuff Enuff. Played one session then a JRPG arrived.

I think this is the perfect opportunity to play my only non-repro SNES game lol

I have no idea what this is, but the boxart has heavy 90's vibes... I guess the point of exploring NSO is playing weird stuff like this, right? If anyone knows what the hell this is please let us know, otherwise I hope you join me and try whatever this is!

It's a janky Street Fighter clone